Just a quick response to Derk Benner's letter last week. He said:
"That's right, Mr. Scott tried to make owning a gun a privilege, just
like owning and driving a car!"

In a broad sense owning and driving a car is no privilege because the
Constitution never gives the government the power to regulate
transportation. It therefore remains one of those 'other rights'
reserved to the people. But practically speaking we know they do.

Someone really ought to produce a brand of toilet paper with a little
copy of the Constitution on every square so that we can be
graphically reminded every time nature calls as to what the Statists
are doing to our rights. It could even be 3-ply for our 3 branches of
government! Hey now that's fun for the whole family! It would also
make the point to our guests far more eloquently than we ever could.
But I digress.....a lot......

My point was that even now you don't have to register a car unless
you take it off of private property. You can drive it around till
doomsday without plates or taxes etc as long as you don't take it
onto tax funded roads. Next time some gun-grabber says they want to
treat guns like cars just tell them 'Fine, dump the FBI check and and
lower the age restriction, teach kids how to shoot in high school
(call it Shooter's Ed) and subsidize American gun manufacturers so
they can sell guns more cheaply than foreign competitors". Then watch
smoke come out their ears.

This fall, either the Republicans or the Democrats will win the White
House and also control of Congress.

Third parties have no real chance.

The Socialists took on the cape of the Democratic Party back in the
'30's and have been extremely successful in bringing about their
goals.

Unless Libertarians choose to take on the cover of the Republican
Party their goals are unlikely to be met.

As it is, any third party vote only amounts to at best a non vote and
at worst as an aid to electing a candidate most unlike a Libertarian.

I'm sure there is some ego value in running as a third party
candidate and some financial value to control the funds allotted and
collected but from a ideological viewpoint it is an exercise in
futility.

Of the two real choices to win Republicans will certainly reduce the
size of government or at least slow the growth more than the
Democrats.

Had to chuckle though, over a particular faux pas in word usage. To
quote:

[...]
Where I believe the phalicy of "compromise" exists is in the
application of that word by the opponents of freedom.
[...]

I do believe the intended word is 'fallacy'?

However, in light of the moment to discuss the real intents of those
who wish to compromise, your word, although not a real one -- but
could be a coined term -- might well express accurately their desire
to, ahem, 'bone' us through said compromise.

Curt Howland writes in his letter to the editor published in TLE #88
"Labor Day" issue:

Where I believe the phalicy of "compromise" exists is in the
application of that word by the opponents of freedom.

I think the author was looking for the word "phallicy," which
describes Bill Klinton's approach to government, or at least
government interns. It certainly was a compromising position for that
particular opponent of individual freedom, but aptly describes what
he has been doing to all Americans for the last 8 years!

I was totally incensed at the cover article on the food page of the
Washington Post this morning. The last thing I would have expected
was to see a story on USGov regulation in the only untarnished
section of that elitist liberal rag.

Apparently it's not enough that government is regulating our freedom
down the crapper, they want that Gruyere cheese out of your hands,
too. FDA is doing an analysis in the safety of CHEESES made from
whole unpasturized milk. This type of milk (characterized in the
industry as "raw") has the possibility of harbouring the E. coli
0157h7 organism. In some rare cases the more virulent E. coli K12 has
been found as well. K12 is resistant to streptomycin treatments.

Although these cases are rare, and the industry goes to great pains
to test it's food for safety, FDA plans to inexhorably blunder ahead
with it's regulations. Manufacturers are already obligated to public
safety, and there are civil and criminal safeguards already in place,
so what's the beef here? It's yet another example of the many
carrying the punishment for the few.

In classic USgov style, unconstitutional burocracies will limit your
freedom in yet another area, wreaking havoc upon local economies.
This will put the lucrative cheese lobby in a real uproar. Kraft
Industries have sent their emmisaries to Washington, accompanied by a
Globemaster full of their wares. The Clinton Administration will be
implacatable to this lobbying onslaught, as they were to the NRA.
I've got some bad news for the FDA, they can have my Roquefort
dressing when they pry it out of my dead, cold hands.